Punjab CM Mann secures deferral on key state issues at Northern Zonal Council meeting

Mann quipped that Haryana has made a very strange demand –that Punjab should be restrained from constructing mini hydel projects on the Bhakra Main Line (BML) on the grounds that it would hamper the flow of water. He said it was surprising that the “naive leadership” of Haryana was indulging in such baseless tantrums far removed from facts. He added that issues related to the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) can be resolved only through the Yamuna Satluj Link (YSL), which would ensure the judicious use of Yamuna water. Punjab, he stressed, has no surplus water to divert through the SYL, and no scientific calculation has ever been carried out regarding water availability.Mann categorically reiterated that Punjab has no spare water to share with any state –“there is no question about it,” he said. In the wake of the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, he said there is now a significant opportunity to resolve long-pending water-related issues concerning the states represented at the meeting. There is a possibility, he added, of linking the Chenab river with the Ravi and Beas rivers, over which dams already regulate downstream water flow.He said that linking the Chenab with the Ravi and Beas would allow the surplus water inflow to be used productively by downstream states, including Punjab, for both power generation and irrigation. The additional water, he said, would also help Punjab bridge its water shortfall, particularly in the border areas. On the issue of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), Mann said he had strongly opposed the proposal to appoint a whole-time member in the BBMB from Rajasthan, arguing that the board was constituted under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and concerns only the successor states of Punjab and Haryana. Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh are already represented as ex officio members, he said, and creating additional whole-time posts would only increase expenditure –most of which is borne by Punjab– without serving any useful purpose.Mann said he had also forcefully reiterated Punjab’s longstanding demand for the transfer of Chandigarh to the state, noting that after the reorganisation of Punjab, the Indira Gandhi Agreement of 1970 clearly stated that “the capital project area of Chandigarh will, as a whole, go to Punjab,” reflecting an explicit commitment from the Centre. The Rajiv-Longowal Accord, signed on July 24, 1985, he added, reaffirmed that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab.



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